A trailer may be provided with a tongue jack to support the tongue of the trailer when the trailer is not hitched to a tow vehicle and to raise and lower the tongue of the trailer to facilitate hitching and unhitching of the trailer to and from the tow vehicle. Tongue jacks come in both power-operated and manually-operated forms. Manually-operated tongue jacks have the advantages of being relatively low in cost, weight, and complexity, but they can require considerable effort to operate. Power-operated tongue jacks have the advantage of being relatively easy to operate, but they are relatively costly and heavy, and they require a power source to be operable. One such power source is the tow vehicle's electrical system, which may provide power to the jack through the trailer's brake system and lighting system electrical harness. Another such power source is a trailer-mounted battery. The tow vehicle's electrical system may be a lower cost alternative than a trailer-mounted battery, but reliance on the tow vehicle's electrical system to power the jack requires that the tow vehicle be present and that its electrical system be connected to the trailer, which may not always be possible or convenient. Reliance on a trailer-mounted battery may be more convenient in some regards, but such a battery adds cost, adds weight to and occupies space on the trailer, and must be properly maintained. In any event, lack of or failure of a suitable power supply may render a power-operated jack inoperable.
A power-operated jack may be provided with a manual override to maintain operability of the jack in the absence of a power source. Such a manual override, however, typically is provided and intended as a secondary means for operating the power-operated jack, and it may add even more weight, cost, and complexity to the jack.
The present disclosure is directed to a tongue jack convertible for operation either by an integral actuator, for example, a manually-operated crank, or an external actuator. The external actuator may be power-operated.